http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nupabf5zsGg
For those of you that aren’t going to make it to CES this year, Qualcomm has released several videos to its YouTube channel, showing off some of the features of its Snapdragon 805 processor. The videos focus mainly on the enhancements the chip can make to camera technology and styluses (via Engadget).
Look, don’t get me wrong as I’m totally on board with wearables and smartwatches as a new part of the industry. However, I’m still having trouble swallowing Qualcomm’s $349 price tag even if they promise a significantly better display…
If there is one inescapable fact when buying the latest, greatest tech it’s that whatever you buy today will soon be made obsolete by something launched tomorrow.
Today’s flagship Android devices come with Snapdragon 600 or 800 CPUs. As of today, that’s old hat, as chipmaker Qualcomm unveiled its Snapdragon 805 Ultra HD replacement. This – together with its on-board Adreno 420 GPU – will play 4K video and run at up to 2.5GHz.
But even that may soon pale against the chip announced by rival chipmaker MediaTek (via Engadget) …
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As Samsung beats back rumors of poor Galaxy Gear sales, it made me wonder what buyers really want to see in their ideal smartwatch? The world may be waiting to see what Apple unveils in the wearables category, but that hasn’t stopped companies like Sony, Qualcomm, and Pebble from trying to capture just a small sliver of this up and coming market.
Qualcomm’s first foray into the smartwatch category with the Toq is now set to hit retail shelves on December 2nd. Qualcomm’s just issued press release announces a price tag of $349 along with the December release date.
There’s no question that with every new smartphone release, we look at the camera, the display and ultimately, the battery. As the Nexus 5 begins making its way to the masses, some new software and performance enhancements will offer a slight boost in battery life.
As GigaOM points out, the inclusion of Qualcomm’s new “envelope tracking technology” will make the Nexus 5 a more battery friendly, power-efficient smartphone. Qualcomm’s envelope tracker, dubbed the QFE1100 was first introduced to the world with the Galaxy Note 3, highlighting the Nexus 5 as the second smartphone to include the tech.
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Facebook announced today that it’s starting a beta program for its Android apps that will allow users to sign up to test and provide feedback on the latest build of the app before its released to the public.
Facebook is the most-downloaded app in the Play Store, so we need to make sure it works for everyone, no matter their amount of RAM, network conditions, or version of Android they might be using. Factors like data costs and network speeds are especially important to users, and we want to make sure we’re always optimizing their experiences. With so many use cases to solve, testing becomes crucial to ensuring positive, consistent experiences across Android.
While Facebook noted that it has been providing a beta of its Android apps to partners such as Qualcomm, HTC, Ericsson, Sony, Huawei and MediaTek over the last six months, starting today all users can now sign up to become beta testers.
If you’re interested in signing up, go join the newly created Google Group called Facebook for Android Beta Testers and allow your device to download the latest beta by selecting “Become a Tester” on Google Play. There’s also a Facebook For Android Beta Testers group on Facebook.
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Earlier on Thursday, we reported on a press release from LG and Qualcomm that teased the successor to the Optimus G flagship would feature a Snapdragon 800 processor, and now the company has sent out another message regarding a mysterious press event. The affair will take place on August 7th in New York City, but no hints as to what we can expect were given, with LG simply calling it an “international media event.”
There’s a pretty solid chance that LG will announce the successor to the Optimus G at the event, but you never know. We’ll be sure to bring you everything you need to know from the event when it happens.
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LG has announced that the successor to its popular Optimus G flagship will be powered by a Snapdragon 800 processor. While the company didn’t announce what the name of the device would be, it teased that it will see 75 percent performance improvement over its predecessor thanks to the latest Qualcomm chip. The smartphone will also have a new Adreno 330 GPU that delivers two times the performance of the Adreno 320 GPU found in the current Optimus G.
The device will also feature LTE capabilities on carriers that support it, Qualcomm IZat Location technology for improved GPS performance, and Enhanced aSMP (asynchronous Symmetric Multiprocessing), which is an architecture for dynamic power that senses peak performance per core and improves battery life. LG also teases HD multichannel audio via DTS-HD and Dolby Digital Plus with support for displays up to 2560 x 2048 pixels. It’s definitely interesting that the company mentioned that resolution.
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Well-connected Analyst Mingchi Kuo from KGI securities is known for his often accurate predictions (timing notwithstanding) of upcoming Apple products. He’s got a detailed report out today on the new Nexus 7 that he thinks will be announced at Google I/O and could ship as early as June or July in large numbers.
Perhaps the most interesting bit is that the entry level price will remain at US$199, with Google likely to lose US$5-10 per unit sold according to the analyst. Why is keeping the same price interesting? Because this thing is getting supercharged according to Kuo:
We think the new Nexus 7 will come with the following major spec upgrades: Qualcomm APQ 8064 processor; narrow bezel LTPS 7-inch high-resolution panel (1,920×1,200); 5MP AF rear camera lens; and wireless charging. We also think it will be much lighter and thinner than the previous version.
How light and thin? He’s saying that a smaller bezel around the edges and 7.5-8.5mm thinness should put it near or below the size and weight of Apple’s iPad Mini. He expects the next Mini 2 later this year.
Kuo expects Google/Asus to move 5M units in the second half of the year and continue with the same distribution strategies (selling at the Google Play Store and at retailers simultaneously).
We are positive on Nexus 7’s reception ahead of the iPad mini 2 launch given that the specs have been upgraded but the price has not been increased. However, tablet PC competition has become much fiercer this year, so we reckon new Nexus 7 year-on-year shipments growth will be limited.
It will be interesting to see how close to the current display size the new screen is. 1920×1200 is a 16:10 screen ratio just like the current 1280×800 but enlarging it a few points would go a long way in making it more competitive with Apple’s 7.9-inch iPad Mini, and with the shrunken bezel size, Asus could keep the same handheld form factor.
Reuters has some vague new information on the Nexus 7 successor from Google today. Rather than being available at Google I/O in May (which would have been my guess), Reuters thinks it won’t hit the mass market until July. Perhaps a limited run will be available to developers in May?
As far as specs…
For years, technology lovers who lived in a Sci-Fi world have longed for a way to charge devices in seconds. Last year, Qualcomm hoped to be the one to bring that dream to reality with the release of “Quick Charge 1.0”. It certainly helped ease the pain of long wait times for a phone battery to fully charge, but it wasn’t the “Insta-Charge” solution everyone wanted. Today, the same company hopes to bring us one step closer with the announcement of “Quick Charge 2.0”. Qualcomm promised up to 75 percent faster charge times compared to 1.0, with up to a 60W power output in a single ‘Quick Charge’ outlet-plug. The new charging tech is planned to be released sometime in 2014, along with the special outlet-plugs needed to make the tech work to its full potential.
Qualcomm also announced today something completely new: “Snapdragon Voice Activation”. It’s a hands-free way to wake your phone up without the need to press any buttons or have an active Internet connection. Along with Quick Charge 2.0, Snapdragon Voice Activation is expected to launch sometime in 2014.
Source: Android Central
AT&T’s LG Optimus G
Sprint just announced customers could pre-order the LG Optimus G starting today for $199.99 with a new two-year contract or eligible upgrade.
So, what’s so special about this particular LTE Android smartphone? Well, it has a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor. It also features a 4.7-inch True HD IPS Plus display, 2GB of RAM, 32GB built-in storage, NFC, and a 2,100mAh battery.
Unfortunately, this powerful handset boasts the aging Ice Cream Sandwich OS. There is also no mention in the announcement of an upcoming upgrade. Take a look at NewGeekGuide’s hands-on review of the AT&T version for a full spec refresher.
Oh, but we must note the LG Optimus G’s cheese shutter. Yeah—you heard that right. The smartphone’s camera is voice-activated by words like “cheese” and “smile”—eliminating the need for a shutter button. Um, interesting?
AT&T folks should keep an eye out for availability too, as the competing Sprint carrier previously said it would open the pre-order gate Nov. 2.
Sprint’s press announcement is below.
We have heard a lot about the much-rumored LG Nexus. From surfaced images and retail inventory listings, we expect the device to bear “LG Nexus 4” branding and launch sometime in the coming weeks. We also heard much about the device’s specs and design that—for the most part—seem to mirror the LG Optimus G. In case you just cannot wait for official details from Google and LG, Russian blog Onliner.by has a full, lengthy review of what it claimed is a “prototype LG Nexus 4”.
As for the specs published by Onliner, the device seems to confirm rumors that the LG Nexus 4 is largely based off the Optimus G. Inside the prototype unit, at least, is a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 4.7-inch 1,280-by-720 IPS display. The device also measured in 1.5mm shorter than the Galaxy Nexus, but it is 1.3mm wider at 134 × 69,2 × 9,2 mm with a weight of 139 g.
The prototype unit reviewed was almost too buggy to review the software (Android 4.1.2), but we do get an excellent look at the physical design of the Nexus 4. A few things we noticed include a new micro SIM card tray, a green LED light on the lower bezel, chrome buttons, and headphone jack position at the top. The website also described the device’s textured back, saying it is “completely smooth” to the touch but extremely scratch proof. It stood up to a scratch test using a key.
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HTC just revealed its HTC One V would be available through Cricket Wireless on Sept. 2. The smartphone, which is a part of the popular One line, features the HTC ImageChip for superfast image capture, Beats by Dr. Dre Audio integration, aluminum unibody construction, 3.7-inch WVGA super LCD2 screen, 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor, and Android 4.0 with HTC Sense 4.
Check out the full white sheet here (PDF).
The full press release:
- Today HTC announced its first product to launch with Cricket Wireless, the HTC One™ V, part of the acclaimed HTC One series of smartphones, will be available through Cricket Wireless starting on September 2.
- HTC One V provides authentic sound with Beats Audio™, allowing listeners to experience a rich sound experience whether listening to music, watching a movie, or playing a game. Beats Audio is a perfect complement to Cricket’s innovative Muve Music service. Muve Music subscribers have access to unlimited downloads of their favorite music and access to exclusive artist commentary, music and video through Muve Music’s Muve First and Muve Headliner monthly artist programs.
- The HTC One V, featuring HTC ImageSense, offers fast image capture and better image quality under adverse conditions. An easy-to-use display with side-by-side photo and video capture buttons means the HTC One V can serve as both camera and video recorder, and with quick activation directly from the home screen, superfast autofocus and continuous shooting.
- Utilizing the classic, award-winning design of the HTC Legend™, the HTC One V offers a sleek unibody design and offers entry-level users a high-quality, high-performance model that they’ll want to show their friends. The HTC One V features a 3.7-inch super LCD screen, speedy Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ S3 1 GHz processor and is supported by a 1,500 mAh battery.
- The HTC One V will be available nationwide at Cricket branded retail stores, dealers, national retailers and at www.mycricket.com on September 2, 2012.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x5KKQx04yD0&start=510]
Update: Scalado won’t confirm publicly what partners use its technology, but we’ve managed to confirm with a source close to the situation that RIM is using Scalado’s Rewind technology in BlackBerry 10.
If you happened to catch the highlights from RIM’s unveiling of BlackBerry 10 this morning, you probably noticed that slick new camera app with the ability to “rewind” time and capture the perfect expression of each person in the image. If you thought it looked familiar, it was probably because it looks almost identical to the Rewind technology from Swedish mobile imaging company Scalado.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5EcUjwLr9k]
The company has been showing off its tech on Android and other platforms from partners such as Qualcomm and Intel for over a year. A video of Scalado’s Rewind tech is above, and BlackBerry 10’s is in the video above at the 8:30 mark or below at 1:15. Scalado appears to have already partnered with at least HTC for some of its other tech and works specifically with OEMs and developers to implement its apps.
It looks like RIM may have partnered with Scalado to implement its tech, which would mean BB 10’s coolest new feature is likely headed to Android and other platforms soon. We reached out to Scalado and will update if we hear back.
Chip maker Qualcomm today introduced three new Gobi modem chipsets at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain and an improved version of the Snapdragon S4 chip for high-end smartphones. The 28-nanometer third-generation MDM8225, MDM9225 and MDM9625 support both LTE-Advanced and dual-carrier 84Mbps HSPA+ Release 10 cellular networks (perhaps fitting in T-Mobile USA’s 2012 plan). If that’s not speedy enough: The MDM9225 and MDM9625 can go all the way up to 150Mbps, because they support LTE Category 4 with carrier aggregation technology.
All three pieces of silicon are backwards compatible with today’s popular standards, including EV-DO Advanced, GSM, TD-SCDMA, FDD and TDD. The MDM8225 chipset supports UMTS-only devices, the MDM9225 chipset supports LTE and UMTS devices, and the MDM9625 chipset supports LTE, UMTS and CDMA2000 devices. All three chipsets will begin sampling in Q4 2012. Compared to Qualcomm’s previous MDM9x15 series (see below the fold), the new chips offer a reduction in power consumption and overall board area that allow for smaller devices with longer battery life.
Qualcomm also launched today an improved version of the Snapdragon S4 system-on-a-chip that powers about 340 mobile devices. It has notably faster graphics, supports Windows 8, includes dedicated hardware to accelerate Windows and fully supports the top game engines in the industry from Unity, Epic and others.
More on the new Snapdragon S4 “Pro” chip and full press releases are after the break.
Anandtech put Qualcomm’s new dual-core Snapdragon S4 mobile chip (also known as the MSM8960) through its paces, and the numbers are just mind-blowing. The crux of the publication’s lengthy post is that there is much to look forward to with this chip. With the overall Vellamo score nearly double that of the Galaxy Nexus’s chip (a dual-core 1.2 GHz Texas Instruments OMAP 4460 processor based on an ARM Cortex-A9 CPU with 1GB RAM and a PowerVR SGX540 GPU), Qualcomm’s offering is no slouch by any mean.
In a nutshell: the MSM8960 absolutely destroys every other phone/CPU on the market right now in every. single. benchmark.
The dual-core MSM8960 is clocked at 1.5GHz and it boasts the new 28 Krait architecture that supports one, two, or four CPUs. It will be interesting to see how Qualcomm’s chip stacks up against NVidia’s upcoming Tegra 3 silicon. For the time being, it is the fastest off all the other publicly released phone CPUs, making possible higher-performing smartphones in 2012.
Read past the fold for the benchmark results.
A new device called the “HTC Edge” leaked. It was the world’s first rumored quad-core handset. Fast forward to last month, and PocketNow reported that HTC renamed the HTC Edge to the “HTC Endeavor.”
A new report from MoDaCo, said HTC is announcing the HTC Endeavor at Mobile World Conference in Barcelona in less than three weeks. If you are not familiar, MWC is the CES for phones and tablets.
MoDaCo’s sources confirmed that the HTC Endeavor will ship with a 1.5GHz Tegra 3 based Quad-Core processor, 4.7-inch 720P HD screen, 8-megapixel camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0. The handset will also feature Beats audio experience onboard, as well as Sense 4.0…
Qualcomm has just issued a press release announcing the commercial availability of their Gobi 4000 chips for 4G LTE and HSPA+ capable devices, variants of which could very well land in any number of forthcoming dual and quad-core LTE Android devices. Qualcomm is already working with OEMs to include the Gobi 4000 platform, which comes in both LTE/HSPA+ and LTE/EV-DO designs, in devices including Lenovo’s ThinkPad laptops, and Dell’s Latitude E6420 laptops, in addition to other Android and Windows powered mobile devices. Qualcomm explains:
Qualcomm’s latest Gobi-enabled 4G platform features the Gobi Application Programming Interface (API) with LTE extensions and is compatible with leading connectivity standards, including CDMA2000® 1xEV-DO Rev. A and B, HSPA+, dual-carrier HSPA+, and LTE with integrated backwards compatibility to HSPA and EV-DO. The Gobi 4000 platform also includes software enhancements for select MDM™ chipsets that enable a common software interface to help connect, locate and manage 3G/4G devices regardless of wireless interface and operating system.
The new chips, now shipping to OEMs through Novatel Wireless and Sierra Wireless, are based on Qualcomm’s MDM9600 and MDM 9200 3G/4G wireless modems, and as the company notes, have been specially designed for deployment in Android devices utilizing Snapdragon dual-core and quad-core processors. In addition to HSPA+, dual-carrier HSPA+, and LTE support, the Gobi 4000 platform is also backwards compatible with HSPA and EV-DO. You can expect the chip to land in a number of LTE-capable Android devices in the months to come.
Qualcomm’s senior vice president of produdct management for CDMA Technologies, Cristiano Amon, had this to say about the announcement:
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Engadget has leaked the specs of a new handset from HTC called the Zeta (rendered above). The HTC Zeta is rumored to pack a 2.5GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 720p 4.5-inch display, 8-megapixel rear camera (1080p HD), and 1.3-megapixel front camera. With specifications optimized for power, the HTC Zeta makes itself favorable over its previously leaked brethren the HTC Edge.
The 2.5 GHz S4 processor will be manufactured by Qualcomm, a competitor to Nvidia’s Tegra 3 that is finding its way into devices by next year. This device is sure to be a speed demon.
Engadget doesn’t say which version of Android the Zeta will run, but with the Ice Cream Sandwich source code released yesterday, we’re hoping the device will see ICS on launch day if not shortly after. HTC’s custom Sense UI will also most likely earn a spot on the Zeta. There is no word on pricing or availability, but Q1 or early Q2 of 2012 sounds about right.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mF0j02SuFw&feature=channel_video_title]
At the Beats Audio event in London, HTC unveiled the Sensation XL this afternoon — a massive device packing Beats audio. The XL name is definitely not exaggerating, seeing as the device features a whopping 4.7-inch display (you really see how big it is after the break). The device also ships with Beats Audio embedded and urBeats headphones, like its Sensation XE brethren.
Full specs for the device include a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm processor, Android 2.3.5 w/ Sense 3.5, 16 GB of internal memory, a 4.7-inch display (800 x 480), 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and 1600 mAH battery.
The Sensation XL lands in Europe sometime in November. Check out Engadget’s hands-on after the break:
At the Innovation Qualcomm event in Istanbul, Qualcomm outlined their new line of “S4” mobile processors (following their new naming scheme). The new single, dual, and quad-core processors will be able to pack up to 2.5 GHz’s in speed, almost doubling what’s available on the current market. Spec wise, the new processors will bring the ability for Adreno Graphics, 3D, 1080p HD, and 3G and LTE connectivity as a standard.
Qualcomm’s quad-core processor will compete directly with Nvidia’s “Kal-el” quad-core processor due out around the same time. CES and Mobile World Conference should be about the time we see phones announced with these processors underneath.Expect these phones to be fast! (via Pocket-lint)
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmpmlOpvoC0″]
Qualcomm is reportedly behind the first known port of Android to the HP TouchPad. As seen in the video above, the user boots his TouchPad into Linux, which then boots into Android. While its booting, Qualcomm’s Quic logo appears. But the question to ask is how did this make it out of the Qualcomm offices and into the hands of a consumer?
It only makes sense for Qualcomm to be the first to jump on the port, seeing as they did design the processor in this device. The port seems relatively snappy — leaving me almost salivating..no wait. We’re not sure if Wi-Fi, the camera, audio, or multi-touch is working quite yet.
There is always the chance this could be fake, but it looks relatively real to us. At any rate, we can’t wait for the port to be released. Luckily, the developer community is already hard at work, thanks to a little incentive. (NotebookItalia via AndroidCentral)
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